Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 2 smoked pork hocks (about 2 to 2½ pounds total)
- 1½ pounds baby gold potatoes, halved
- ½ medium green cabbage, cut into wedges
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
- 6 cups chicken broth or water
Optional Seasonings
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt, to taste, if needed
Instructions
Halve the baby gold potatoes. Quarter the yellow onion. Cut the half head of cabbage into wedges, keeping a little of the core on each wedge so the leaves hold together. Crush the garlic cloves if you are using them. This whole step should take about ten minutes.
Place the smoked pork hocks in the bottom of your large pot. Add the quartered onion, and the garlic, bay leaf, and black pepper if you are using them. Pour in the chicken broth or water. The liquid should cover the hocks about three quarters of the way, and the rest will be covered by the time the vegetables settle in.
Set the pot over medium-high heat and bring the liquid to a boil. As soon as it boils, reduce the heat to low so the surface is barely bubbling. Skim off any foam that rises to the top with a spoon. Cover the pot with the lid, leaving it slightly ajar if the simmer seems too vigorous.
Let the hocks simmer gently for about 1½ hours. This is where the magic happens. The skin softens, the collagen melts into the broth, and the meat begins to loosen from the bone. Check the pot occasionally and add a splash of hot water if the liquid has reduced too much.
After the first 1½ hours, nestle the halved potatoes into the broth around the hocks. Cover again and continue simmering for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are just starting to soften.
Lay the cabbage wedges on top of the potatoes and pork. Gently press them down so they are partly submerged in the liquid. Cover and simmer for another 25 to 30 minutes, until the cabbage is silky and tender and a fork slides easily into the potatoes.
Remove the bay leaf. Taste the broth. If it needs a boost, add salt a pinch at a time, or a little more black pepper. Most of the time the smoky hocks provide plenty of seasoning.
Lift the hocks onto a cutting board with tongs. Pull the tender meat from the bones, discarding the bones, excess fat, and any tough skin you prefer not to eat. Return the shredded meat to the pot, or arrange it on top of the vegetables in each bowl. Ladle everything into warm bowls with plenty of broth.